Kyiv Mayor Warns of 'Tearing Apart' as Russian Strikes Intensify
Intensified Russian drone and missile strikes are tearing Kyiv apart, the mayor of Ukraine’s capital said on Friday, describing the situation as a “very dramatic situation.” The mayor, Vitaliy Klitschko, said Moscow was battering the city’s critical infrastructure, logistics, housing and other key facilities.
The warnings came after Kyiv’s defence council held a crisis meeting following new Russian attacks on a key bridge. The Pivdennyi (Southern) bridge, one of the main transport arteries across the Dnipro River, was struck a fourth time in two days, causing major traffic delays and leading to a temporary suspension of metro and automobile traffic on the bridge and restrictions on other key bridges.
City data centres have been hit recently, resulting in internet outages that have affected residents and businesses alike. In a separate incident, a multi‑storey residential building suffered a strike overnight, killing one person according to Ukraine’s state emergencies service DSNS.
Vladimir Putin, in a speech at the Valdai foreign policy forum, claimed Russia was responding to Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries and its ships in the Black Sea, stating that Kyiv had started the attacks. Kyiv, however, maintains that its strikes on Russian energy infrastructure are aimed at weakening the Kremlin’s war economy.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Putin had decided early September that there were no rules for attacking Ukraine, underscoring the high stakes as Russia ramps up attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
